Expertise is hard earned.

Burnt into you.

Through sweat.

Through mistakes.

Through endless hours turning chaos to clarity.

But CPOs, have you ever felt that your expertise became a prison, rather than a source of power? Expert defenders, you are the ones people trust. The ones they come to for certainty. The ones who stay in the turbulence, knowing the playbook.

That is the gift. And the trap.

In the optimisation dilemma, expertise is idolised.It is the excuse not to question. Not to change. Not to listen. Because if you are the expert, you should never be surprised. You should never be wrong. So you cling to what you know, even as the world shifts around you.

CPOs, this is the silent cost of expertise. It’s not arrogance. It’s not ego. It’s fatigue.

It takes energy to stay curious, when everyone around you expects you to have the answer. Expert defenders, ask yourself:

When was the last time you said, “I don’t know”? Do you leave space in your head for dissenting voices? Are your systems designed to iterate or preserve?

The expert feels productive. It feels respected. It feels safe. But it also means you have less time, and energy, for the conversations you need to have.The risks you need to take.The signals you need to spot. CPOs, expertise should not calcify your process.It should